Green Flash West Coast IPA

The subtitle to this post would have to be f*ck it Mr. Bucket since I am just going to be putting up the backlog of reviews I have with or without a picture. I will eventually try to put up some sort of accompanying photo of any kind.

I had this very tasty IPA on Christmas Eve at the christening of my uncle's new house in Las Cruces. I use the word house loosely as this is more of a compound than a house, it's that huge. I felt like I was in an episode of cribs. After a long evening of college football, golf (he has his own putting green complete with tee boxes and sandtraps), food and more food, we went into his game house (that's right, game house, not game room; it's seriously bigger than my house) to play some poker. Me rarely ever carrying any cash on me, I had to resort to using the $50 check my grandma had just given me as my present for collateral. Thinking I'm a big shot by asking for $20 in chips, my uncle comes in and busts out with a $100 like nothing. I could tell I was going to be in for a challenge if I wanted to take my loving grandma's check home. Therefore, I decided to open up a bottle of Green Flash West Coast IPA and use it to take the edge off. I'd need any help I could get if I was going to bluff my way out of this one. At the very least, the bitterness of the brew made me hide my goofy bluffing smile with a bitter beer face.

The label says there are 5 different kinds of hops added to this spectacular brew throughout the brewing process and it shows. This beer smells like an IPA is supposed to smell. It started off with a sweet, citrus hop aroma with a piney background that did a poor job of masking the bitterness that was to come. The taste hit me like a freight train. There is a solid, bitter grapefruit hop taste that emerges followed by a puckering piney taste that finishes with a flowery hop and then more bitter hop oil. I can taste citrus, sweet, and pungent hops all along the sipping process. Wow, the bitterness really lingers at the tongue after each and every sip. This is definitely not a session beer but one you grab yourself when you want to take it easy. The bitterness has a sharp bite upfront and stays with you long after you swallow each sip. It's probably one of the most bitter but complex IPAs that I've ever had and I greatly enjoyed the experience! I can't stress this enough but it is far more bitter than your average IPA. I can't get enough of this sweet hop action!! This is not for the faint of hop, I mean heart, and if you aren't a big fan of the style then you should steer clear from this one. On the other hand, if you're a fan of IPAs, you NEED to seek this one out because it is one of the best I've had of the style.

Needless to say, my night ended as well as the beer did and not only did I win enough to get my grandma's check back, I took home an additional $45 in profit. Great brews always accompany great experiences.